Bio & Incident Details

Chief John Sturgus was found shot to death in the rear stairwell of a local drug store.

He had been shot in the chest with his own weapon by an unknown assailant. The case was never solved and no motive was ever determined.

Chief Sturgus had served as the Anchorage police chief since the city became a municipality on January 1, 1921. He had previously served as a law enforcement officer in the states of Washington and Montana.